πŸ”¬ B2 Listening: The Pitch Drop Experiment

An Amazing Science Story | Academic Listening Practice

Welcome to the Lesson!

πŸ“Œ Lesson Overview:

Today you'll listen to an academic lecture about the world's longest-running scientific experiment. This fascinating story demonstrates how science requires patience and dedication.

🎯 Learning Objectives

  • Understand an academic lecture at B2 level
  • Learn specialized vocabulary related to science and experiments
  • Practice listening for specific information and details
  • Develop note-taking skills for academic listening

Pre-Listening: What Do You Think?

Discuss with your teacher:

  • What makes an experiment successful?
  • How long do you think a typical science experiment takes?
  • Have you heard of any famous experiments?

πŸ“Š Lesson Structure (50 minutes)

Minutes 1-7
Introduction & Vocabulary Preparation
Minutes 8-20
First & Second Listening with Activities
Minutes 21-35
Comprehension Practice & Gap-Fill Exercise
Minutes 36-50
Discussion & Review

πŸ“– Key Vocabulary

Instructions: Click on each word to see its definition, pronunciation, and examples. Try to understand these words before listening.
πŸ”Έ Pitch (noun) /pΙͺtΚƒ/

Definition: A black, sticky substance derived from petroleum, coal tar, or plants

Example: "Pitch was originally used in road construction and waterproofing roofs."

Collocations: coal tar pitch, pitch drop, pitch properties

πŸ”Έ Viscous (adjective) /ˈvΙͺskΙ™s/

Definition: Having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid; slow-flowing

Example: "Honey is more viscous than water."

Related words: viscosity (noun), viscousness (noun)

πŸ”Έ Funnel (noun) /ˈfʌnΙ™l/

Definition: A cone-shaped tool with a tube at the narrow end, used for pouring liquids or substances into containers

Example: "The scientist poured the pitch into a glass funnel."

Verb form: to funnel (something into/through)

πŸ”Έ Continuously (adverb) /kΙ™nˈtΙͺnjuΙ™sli/

Definition: Without stopping; happening all the time without interruption

Example: "The experiment has been running continuously since 1927."

Related: continuous (adj), continuity (noun)

πŸ”Έ Property (noun) /ˈprΙ’pΙ™ti/

Definition: A characteristic or quality belonging to something

Example: "Scientists study the properties of different materials."

Common collocations: physical properties, chemical properties, material properties

πŸ”Έ Settle (verb) /ˈsetΙ™l/

Definition: To become calm, still, or stable after movement or disturbance

Example: "He allowed the pitch to cool and settle for three years."

Other meanings: settle down (phrasal verb), settlement (noun)

πŸ”Έ Tragic (adjective) /ˈtrΓ¦dΚ’Ιͺk/

Definition: Very sad, unfortunate, or causing great sadness

Example: "The experiment has a tragic story associated with it."

Related: tragedy (noun), tragically (adverb)

πŸ”Έ Power outage (noun phrase) /ˈpaΚŠΙ™r ˈaʊtΙͺdΚ’/

Definition: A period when electrical power is not available

Example: "The webcam suffered a power outage for 20 minutes."

Synonyms: blackout, power cut, power failure

πŸ”Έ Went viral (phrase) /went ˈvaΙͺrΙ™l/

Definition: Spread very quickly across the internet, becoming very popular

Example: "The video went viral on the internet."

Usage: Usually refers to videos, images, or news that become extremely popular online

Vocabulary Practice: Preparation Task

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the word in brackets. Type your answers below.

Pitch is the name to a black substance that can be manufactured from petroleum, coal tar or plants.

It was used in road , boat- and waterproofing roofs.

It is known for its viscosity (being semi-fluid), its and its .

In fact, pitch is the world's known fluid.

An experiment to let drops of pitch form and then fall has been going for 92 years without .

🎧 First Listening

Instructions: Listen to the lecture for the first time. Don't worry about understanding every word. Focus on getting the general idea.
🎡 Audio Duration: ~4 minutes
πŸ’‘ You can listen as many times as you need

While You Listen: Note-Taking

Take notes about:

  • What is the pitch drop experiment?
  • Who created it?
  • How long has it been running?
  • What happened to the scientists involved?

Quick Comprehension Check

Answer these questions based on your first listening:

1. What is this lecture mainly about?

A) The history of Australian universities
B) A very long-running scientific experiment
C) The dangers of working with chemicals

2. The experiment shows that pitch is:

A) A solid substance
B) Actually a very slow-moving liquid
C) Impossible to study

3. What is unique about this experiment?

A) It was very expensive
B) It only took one year
C) It has been running for almost 100 years

βœ“ Detailed Comprehension

Instructions: Listen again and answer these detailed questions. Click on your answer choice.

Part A: Multiple Choice Questions

1. The pitch drop experiment is...

a) the oldest experiment in history.
b) the oldest experiment that is still running today.
c) the longest experiment in 1927.

2. The creator of the experiment wanted to...

a) have an experiment that lasted a long time.
b) show the dangers of everyday materials.
c) show that common substances have extraordinary properties.

3. Pitch is a substance...

a) that looks solid but is actually liquid.
b) that looks liquid but is actually solid.
c) that doesn't appear to be liquid or solid.

4. The first time a drop of pitch fell was...

a) eight years after the experiment began.
b) three years after the experiment began.
c) forty years after the experiment began.

5. Which of the following sentences is NOT true about Professor John Mainstone?

a) He never saw the pitch drop.
b) He was responsible for the experiment for over fifty years.
c) He took over the experiment in 1927.

6. In the year 2000...

a) an electricity failure meant the pitch drop was not filmed.
b) scientists set up a live stream of the experiment.
c) the ninth drop of pitch fell.

✍️ Listen and Complete

Instructions: Listen again and complete the sentences with ONE TO THREE words. Type your answers in the gaps.

1. When pitch is at room temperature, you can break it .

2. Professor Parnell put pitch into a glass funnel, let it cool, then turned it and cut off the top.

3. In total, only have fallen from the funnel.

4. The next pitch drop is expected to fall in .

5. In 1988, the scientist responsible for the experiment missed seeing the pitch drop by .

6. The speaker notes it's interesting how news about a slow experiment can spread .

Timeline of the Experiment

1927

Professor Thomas Parnell begins the pitch drop experiment at the University of Queensland, Australia

1930

After 3 years of settling, the funnel is turned upside down

1938

First drop falls (8 years after funnel was inverted)

1961

Professor John Mainstone takes over the experiment

1977-2000

Professor Mainstone misses seeing drops fall three times

2014

Ninth drop falls

2020s

Tenth drop expected (the wait continues...)

πŸ’¬ Discussion & Speaking Practice

🎭 The Tragic Story

Neither Professor Parnell nor Professor Mainstone ever saw a pitch drop fall, despite decades of dedication to the experiment. Professor Mainstone missed seeing it by just 5 minutes in 1988!

Discussion Questions

Discuss these questions with your teacher:

1. About the Experiment

  • What do you find most interesting about this experiment?
  • Do you think this experiment is important? Why or why not?
  • Would you have the patience to run an experiment like this?

2. Science and Patience

  • What does this experiment teach us about scientific research?
  • How do you think the scientists felt about never seeing the pitch drop?
  • In what other areas of life is patience important?

3. Famous Experiments

Do you know of any other famous experiments? Research and discuss:

  • Pavlov's dogs (classical conditioning)
  • Newton's apple (gravity)
  • Marie Curie's radioactivity research
  • The Marshmallow Test (delayed gratification)

Vocabulary in Context

Practice using the new vocabulary: Create sentences using these words from the lesson.

Words to use: viscous, continuously, property, settle, tragic, went viral

🌐 Extended Learning

Want to see the pitch drop experiment yourself?

The University of Queensland has a live webcam where you can watch the experiment in real-time! Search for "University of Queensland pitch drop experiment live" to find it.

Another pitch drop experiment at Trinity College Dublin successfully filmed a drop falling. The video went viral on YouTube!

πŸ“ Lesson Review & Summary

πŸŽ‰ Congratulations on Completing the Lesson! πŸŽ‰

πŸ“š What We Learned Today

The Pitch Drop Experiment

  • Started in 1927 by Professor Thomas Parnell
  • Demonstrates that pitch is actually a very viscous fluid, not a solid
  • Only 9 drops have fallen in almost 100 years
  • Holds the Guinness World Record for longest-running experiment
  • Both professors involved never saw a drop fall - a tragic irony

🎯 Key Vocabulary Review

pitch - black sticky substance
viscous - thick and slow-flowing
continuously - without stopping
property - characteristic/quality
settle - become still/stable
tragic - very sad/unfortunate
power outage - electricity failure
went viral - spread quickly online

βœ… Skills Practiced

Today you practiced:

  • βœ“ Listening for main ideas and specific details
  • βœ“ Understanding academic vocabulary in context
  • βœ“ Taking notes while listening
  • βœ“ Answering comprehension questions
  • βœ“ Completing gap-fill exercises
  • βœ“ Discussing scientific topics in English

πŸ“– Full Transcript

Read the full transcript of the lecture. Click on sentences to highlight important information.

In today's lecture we're going to be talking about experiments, and I thought it might be interesting for you all to learn about the world's oldest continuously running laboratory experiment that is still going today.

In fact, it holds the Guinness World Record for being the longest-running experiment.

This experiment began in 1927 and has been going ever since.

It's called the 'pitch drop' experiment and it was created by Professor Thomas Parnell at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Parnell was the university's first physics professor, and he wanted to show in this experiment that everyday materials, such as pitch, can have quite surprising properties.

You see, when pitch is at room temperature, it feels solid. You can easily break it with a hammer.

However, it isn't in fact solid. At room temperature, pitch is many billions of times more viscous than water, but it's actually fluid.

In 1927, Professor Parnell took a sample of pitch. He heated it and poured it into a glass funnel.

He allowed the pitch to cool and settle – for three years. He then turned the funnel upside down and cut the top off it.

Since then, the pitch has slowly dropped out of the funnel. How slowly? Well, the first drop took eight years to fall.

It took another forty years for another five drops to fall. Today it's been almost 90 years since the experiment started.

Only nine drops have fallen from the funnel. The last drop fell in April 2014 and the next one is expected to fall in the 2020s.

The experiment has a tragic story associated with it. Professor Parnell died without seeing a pitch drop.

His replacement, Professor John Mainstone, became responsible for the pitch drop experiment from 1961. He held the job for 52 years, and missed seeing the drop fall three times – by a day in 1977, by just five minutes in 1988 and finally in 2000, when the webcam that was recording the experiment suffered a power outage for 20 minutes, during which time the pitch dropped.

The pitch drop experiment is something we can all participate in now. There's a live web stream that allows anyone to watch the glass funnel and wait for the fateful moment.

A similar experiment to the Queensland pitch drop was set up in Dublin, and the video of the moment the pitch actually dropped went viral on the internet.

It's interesting to see how a very slow event can spread news so quickly.

🏠 Homework Suggestions

  1. Listen to the audio again and practice shadowing (speaking along with the audio)
  2. Write a short summary (100-150 words) of the pitch drop experiment
  3. Research another famous scientific experiment and prepare to tell your teacher about it
  4. Practice using the new vocabulary in your own sentences
  5. Watch the video of the Dublin pitch drop experiment on YouTube

πŸ’‘ Reflection Questions

  • What was the most challenging part of this lesson for you?
  • Which vocabulary words do you want to practice more?
  • What would you like to focus on in the next listening lesson?
⭐ Great Work Today! ⭐
Keep practicing your listening skills!